Men, Women, and Weight

There was a story in the New York Times, What’s the Skinny on the Heftier Stars, about the expanding waist lines of male stars like Russel Crowe, Denzel Washington and Leonardo DiCaprio. On the one hand, I was kind of glad to see that men are coming in for the same treatment that women have put up with forever. (Misery, and five extra pounds, loves company.) But here’s the thing: These men still get the (younger, thinner) girl nine times out of ten, no matter how many extra chins they are carting around. And the criticism of the men’s newfound heft had a mild, wink and nod tone.

Are Women Better at Handling A Crisis?

Is the economic meltdown pulling couples closer together, or pushing them apart?

Every time I see the news, there’s another bit on how the crisis is affecting relationships. People dating more because they are looking for comfort. People dating less ’cause it’s expensive. Married couples arguing, hiding spending. And then we find out that more men are being laid off than women.

How Do You Deal With Money Envy?

Did you see this piece in the New York Times Style section about trying live on $500,000 a year? I know, boo hoo!

So in Best Intentions, Lisa knows she has a pretty darn good life: husband, two kids, a job in PR (though she’s terrified she might lose it any second.) But her kids go to a very chi-chi Upper East Side school in Manhattan where almost everyone seems to have a gilded life. She feels like she’s “in their world on a visa.” It’s not that Lisa is so jealous of the things, second houses, designer clothes, but she does fantasize about their freedom from worry. Sometimes she feels envy, sometimes (okay, often) distaste. Which is pretty much how I feel. It’s complicated.